Beware the Curse of Kane

William Blackburn is a professor of English at the University of
Calgary.

Readers of Pirate Walk will already know Ricky, Erica Ann, and Tony, the
eight- and nine-year old central characters of this novel. The three
find themselves in the thick of the action when their small Nova Scotia
town decides to turn the mansion of the erstwhile privateer “Killer”
Kane into a museum. The museum’s opening is disrupted by a mysterious
message in blood on a portrait of Kane, followed by other evidence of
ghostly activity—all of which the irrepressible children soon find
themselves investigating. They discover secret vaults under the old
house, recover the stolen journal of Captain Kane, and cap their
achievements by solving the riddle of his long-lost treasure.

This is a fast-moving novel, unlarded with lengthy descriptions, and
weakened principally by its pedestrian illustrations. The author
observes modern prejudices (Erica is as active as the two boys; the
town’s mayor is a woman) without collapsing into the silliness that
often attends them (the children need the help of their friend, the
chief of police, to emerge triumphant). All in all, a good read for
children in the age group of the novel’s three protagonists.